as part of a regular series, we’ll take a look at some of our clients who have achieved success with our one-stop loyalty reward program. we’ve seen proven results for some time – now, we’d like to share them with you to give you a better idea of how implementing our program can help you acquire, grow, and retain your customer base and ultimately, improve your business. at the very least, we hope you will pick up a few tips from these superstar small business owners!
“running a small business is kind of like having a kid…”
if that’s the case, then beth miller’s kid would be yo mama frozen yogurt, a self-serve frozen shop located in columbus, indiana. opened two years ago, yo mama frozen yogurt spans 2,800 square feet and holds a party room, an upper and lower seating area, and a kids play area. because beth wanted to give her business a relaxing and sophisticated feel, she even threw in a few fireplaces around for good measure. opening a frozen yogurt shop, however, hadn’t technically been beth’s plan… in fact, she didn’t really have any plan at all! the one thing she did know, though, was that she had always wanted to open her own business. since her kids had finally reached the age where she had the time to work, she started doing her research. she eventually stumbled on the idea of yo mama and as she tells me, “it was just the right place, the right time, and the right product.”
since opening her doors, every single day running yo mama frozen yogurt has been like an adventure for beth. without a doubt, she has learned a few lessons on entrepreneurialism – for one, you must be self-motivated. as a business owner, you must be willing to be involved 24/7. of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t have any downtime. better yet, beth tells me enthusiastically that downtime is kind of a must (unless you want to drive yourself crazy!). in order to have that downtime, though, you have to be able to delegate and know your limits. don’t worry when you can’t “do it all!”
“slow and steady wins the race.”
as a yogurt shop, beth’s idea of marketing has always been to keep it simple and low cost. she engages in social media regularly, but believes fivestars has been her best marketing tool yet. she knew she wanted her business to feel like a franchise without actually being a franchise, so the old-school punch card was definitely not the way to go. she had tried several different methods until she found fivestars – she ultimately decided to stick with it because her customers really liked the program. since it’s a familiar concept (most people know how a key fob card works), her employees were able to sign tons of people up from the beginning. beth’s favorite fivestars feature is autopilot, simply because it makes her life a lot easier! she loves that the program takes a lot of things that she just doesn’t have the time for and automatically makes them happen.
for beth, one of the most challenging things to learn as a small business owner is how to make sure yo mama has a sustainable growth. after all, you don’t want to grow so fast and end up going in too many directions at once. the best advice she has for other business owners facing the same issue is to just keep it simple. always make sure to verify what people say – yes, people mean well when they offer advice, but it may not always be right! and what does she say to the people who tell her she can’t do something? “just watch me.”
“your kid is great!”
today, beth runs yo mama like clockwork. she and her employees have become comfortable with how the routine works and walks in every morning with no script. that being said, beth knows to never expect not to have surprises. she definitely still has those days where she stresses about losing money and worries about the outside influences that she can’t control. but when customers walk in and tell her they’ve never seen a yogurt shop like yo mama frozen yogurt, or when she receives compliments on her yogurt, she can’t help but be satisfied. it’s true, running a small business is a lot like having a kid. just like a parent raises and watches her kid grow, beth has been able to see her her business expand and develop through the years. what does the future hold for yo mama? once beth has built up the current location, she would really like to add even more locations. how’s that for growing up?
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